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Anahita Refinery to Be Privatized

Anahita refinery in Kermanshah Province is to be privatized, said the planning director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), Shana reported.
According to Shahaboddin Mataji Kajouri, the board of directors of NIORDC has agreed to transfer 33.3 percent of the refinery's shares to Tamin Petroleum and Petrochemical Investment Co. (TAPPICO), 33 percent to Civil Servants Pension Fund (CSPF), 20 percent to NIORDC and 20 percent to Oil Pension Fund Investment Co., as the transfer is underway, he said.
The move is in line with Article 44 of Iran's Constitutional Law to open up new opportunities to the private-sector and to restrict the government's investment in refineries.
"Once the privatization process is completed, steps will be taken to establish the refinery within specified timeframes in line with funding requirements and investments over the construction period."
The establishment of Anahita refinery passed into the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005-2009) with a daily capacity of 150000 barrels to meet demand oin the western regions. The unit was to be established 15 kilometers off Kermanshah in Hamedan-Kermanshah Highway.
The refinery will reportedly add 7 million liters of gasoline to the country's energy basket.
The objectives of privatizing refineries includes fueling Kermanshah and other western provinces, exporting petroleum products to neighboring countries, feeding petrochemical and subsidiary industries, developing Kermanshah Province technologies, attracting investment of the private sector to develop refineries, producing petroleum products in compliance with Euro-5 standards and meeting other international requirements.